Greens call on NSW Government to come-clean on cancelled forest visit with peak environment group

NSW Greens Forests spokesperson, Dawn Walker has called on the NSW Government to meet with environment groups and visit State forests that will be subject to new destructive logging practices under the new proposed Coastal Integrated Forestry Operations Approvals (IFOA).

“It’s alarming that the NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA) has suddenly cancelled an inspection of State Forests on the North Coast organised with the North East Forest Alliance (NEFA) for Monday 28 May, where they would have seen the direct consequences their new logging rules will have for koalas and old growth forests.

“It’s clear the Liberal-Nationals are continually crippling the EPA, creating a situation where the body that is supposed to regulate forestry operations in NSW is virtually incapacitated to fulfil one of its core functions.

“Instead of actually seeing what’s going on in our forests, it’s clear that the NSW Government wants to continue on with their sham IFOA consultation process, which is little more than a sales pitch for intensifying logging in our State Forests.

“The cancellation of this forest inspection with NEFA is the latest example of the Government undermining of our environmental regulator and comes on the back of the EPA recently being stripped of Private Native Forestry regulation in favour of Local Land Services, who are unlikely to even carry out inspections.

“I’ll be questioning the NSW Government on why the EPA’s planned site inspection with the North East Forest Alliance on Monday was cancelled in Parliament and continuing to pressure them over their destructive logging agenda” said Dawn Walker MP.

The Draft Coastal Integrated Forestry Operations Approval (IFOA) was released on 15 May 2018 for public consultation and sets the rules for how forestry operations can be carried out in native forests on public land in NSW.

Public consultation will run for six-weeks and submissions close 29 June 2018.